Global economy depends on global environment – but world leaders don’t ‘get it’
Marton-Lefèvre is in Sydney for the World Parks Congress, a once-in-a-decade international conservation gathering that starts this week.
The week-long congress will feature an update on global progress in meeting the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Signed in 1992 by 193 nations, a key target is to protect at least 17% of the world’s terrestrial areas and 10% of marine areas by 2020.
World governments failing Earth’s ecosystems, says top conservationist, Oliver Milman, The Guardian, 10 Nov 14, Julia Marton-Lefèvre, director general of the IUCN, says political leaders have not properly embraced conservation Governments are lagging behind on international commitments to safeguard the planet’s ecosystems, with politicians failing to grasp that economic growth depends upon environmental protection, the head of the world’s leading conservation organisation has warned.
Julia Marton-Lefèvre, director general of the IUCN, the body that advises the United Nations on environmental matters, told Guardian Australia that conservation needed to be properly embraced by political leaders.
“I think world leaders have many other issues to deal with and sometimes they don’t see how protecting nature is essential for our wellbeing,” she said.
“On a planet with 7bn people, moving to 9bn, this isn’t just about protecting our beautiful places, it’s protecting the places that provide us with water and food and protect us from extreme weather.”
Marton-Lefèvre is in Sydney for the World Parks Congress, a once-in-a-decade international conservation gathering that starts this week.
The week-long congress will feature an update on global progress in meeting the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Signed in 1992 by 193 nations, a key target is to protect at least 17% of the world’s terrestrial areas and 10% of marine areas by 2020.
Ahead of the official release of the target’s update, Marton-Lefèvre admitted that progress on this goal is “not that optimistic”………
Marton-Lefèvre said that political leaders needed to realise that the environment can’t be sidelined in any discussion on economic growth. The World Parks Congress will take place at the same time as the G20, where the Australian government, as host, has prioritised economic growth ahead of any consideration of climate change.
“That kind of economic argument doesn’t really understand what nature brings us,” she said. “These things can’t be treated as if they are in silos. Nature provides us with our life support system. Leaving forests standing is worth far more than cutting them down.”……..
On Monday, the congress will see the unveiling of the latest IUCN Red List, the world’s most comprehensive analysis of the conservation status of the planet’s species. At the last count, the Red List contained 73,686 assessed species, of which 22,103 are threatened with extinction.http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/09/world-governments-failing-earths-ecosystems-says-top-conservationist
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